Summer movie preview: All the buzz on the season's upcoming films

Ledger film critic Al Alexander's guide to the season's new movies - all the sequels, superheroes, comedies, dramas and cartoons.

Al Alexander

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Films are arrivin’ and the box office is high. Oh, the bounty’s rich and the stars are good lookin.’ So hush little baby; don’t you cry.

And how could you whine with so many diverse movies unspooling between now and the end of August? There are comedies, dramas, cartoons and sequels galore. We even have superheroes testing their “metal” as “Iron Man” and the “Man of Steel” vie to amass the most gold during a season in which fat-cat producers pray every flick has a silver lining.

So, to get you ready for a summer so bright you’ll have to wear shades – or, at least 3-D glasses – here’s a rundown of what you can expect to open your hearts and wallets to over the next four months, beginning with:

MAY 3

Iron Man 3: The King of Clang returns, as Robert Downey Jr. dons the iron duds for a fourth (counting “The Avengers”) time in Marvel’s wildly successful franchise about a playboy defense contractor sporting a titanium shell and a heart of gold. But this time he may have met his match in Ben Kingsley’s ruthless Mandarin.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist: Acclaimed Indian director Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding,” “The Namesake”) ventures past the border into Pakistan to tell a haunting tale about an American-educated Muslim (sensational Riz Ahmed) flirting with the idea of terrorism after he encounters a steady stream of racism while living in New York in the days and months following 9/11. Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber and Kiefer Sutherland co-star.

MAY 10

The Great Gatsby: Leonardo DiCaprio tries to go where Robert Redford failed in bringing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jay Gatsby to life in a glitzy production engineered by the visionary Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge”). Tobey Maguire and Isla Fisher co-star along with Carey Mulligan as Gatsby’s beloved Daisy Buchanan.

At Any Price: Dennis Quaid is drawing early Oscar buzz for his portrayal of a powerful and highly complex Iowa agribusinessman whose stock car-driving son (Zac Efron at his best) hates him for everything he stands for and against. Think “East of Eden.” “The Hangover’s” Heather Graham co-stars as the town pump, tempting both men with her considerable charms. And you thought Iowa was boring.

Peeples: Craig Robinson, the breakout star from “The Office,” plays a peon who falls, and falls hard, for the daughter (Kerry Washington) of a wealthy businessman. Bumbling classism ensues in this Tyler Perry-produced comedy.

MAY 17

Star Trek into the Darkness: J.J. Abrams follows up his huge 2009 hit by going where he’s never gone before in taking a franchise that was once on life-support and guiding it into deeper, more exciting frontiers. All the regulars – including Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto – return, along with gorgeous newcomer Alice Eve, as the crew of the Enterprise battle a nutcase bent on inflicting mass destruction upon the universe.

MAY 24

Fast & Furious 6: More of the same: Fast cars, slow minds and bodacious babes on a collision course with a heap of clichés.

The Hangover Part III: After “The Hangover Part II,” there’s nowhere for this inexplicably popular franchise to go but up. Or, that’s the hope, as the boys plot to break Alan (Zach Galifianakis) out of a mental institution.

Epic: DreamWorks presents its annual spring animation release, this one based on a children’s book by no less than James “Mr. Happy” Joyce. In it, an army of bugs battle an evil spider queen. Beyonce and Colin Farrell lend their voices.

Frances Ha: Kudos have been pouring in for actress Greta Gerwig and her writer-director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”, “Greenberg”) for this perceptive comedy in which Gerwig plays a young woman dealing with the ups and downs of living in New York.

MAY 31

Now You See Me: Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Mark Ruffalo take part in a bit of sleight of hand that can best be described as “Inception” meets “Robin Hood,” as the FBI pursues a band of thieves who use illusion as a means to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

The Purge: Ethan Hawke and Lena Headly star in a potentially thrilling – or offensive – tale about a suburban family threatened by a vicious band of homicidal home invaders.

After Earth: “The Pursuit of Happyness” team of Will and Jaden Smith rejoin forces for this futuristic story about a father and son learning to work together after they crash land on Earth 1,000 years after the apocalypse. M. Night Shyamalan directs.

The East: Brit Marling, who co-wrote the screenplay, plays a corporate spy who goes undercover with a band of 99-percenters and begins to side with the enemy, especially their hunky young leader (Alexander Skarsgard). Ellen Page and Jason Ritter co-star.

JUNE 7

The Internship: After starring together in “Wedding Crashers” and “Starsky and Hutch,” the potent comedy team of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn hook up to play unemployed salesmen competing for a job at a high-tech company.

The Kings of Summer: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso and Moises Arias play teenage friends who run away from home to begin a new life living off the land. But will their return to nature withstand the perils of human nature?

Before Midnight: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reunite with writer-director Richard Linklater for a third installment in their decades-spanning romance, which has evolved significantly as we rejoin them on summer vacation in Greece.

JUNE 12

This Is the End: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen gave us the smash hit “Superbad,” but they’re also responsible for the wretched “Neighborhood Watch.” So it’s anyone’s guess how well they’ll fare with this sci-fi sendup about six bickering friends (Rogen, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Emma Watson, Jonah Hill and Jason Segel) trapped in a cabin during the apocalypse.

JUNE 14

Man of Steel: After encountering box-office kryptonite with 2006’s “Superman Returns,” the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) attempts to bounce back in this adventure from director Zack Snyder, who doesn’t exactly instill confidence, considering the poor reception his rendering of “The Watchmen” received. At least he had the good sense to cast Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

JUNE 21

Monsters University: We saw him in “When Harry Met Sally,” now we get to see how Billy Crystal’s Mike met Sully (voice of John Goodman) in Pixar’s college-set prequel to “Monsters Inc.” One is safe to assume their initial acquaintance was less than harmonious – perhaps, even scary.

World War Z: Former journalism major Brad Pitt finally gets to play a reporter in this man vs. zombie epic from that master of comedy, Mel Brooks. Wait! I’m told that should be sci-fi writer Max Brooks. Well, it still might be funny, unintentionally, if director Marc Forster (the putrid “Quantum of Solace”) doesn’t find sufficient life in the undead. Anthony Mackie and Bryan Cranston co-star.

JUNE 28

The Heat: Director Paul Feig follows up his smash “Bridesmaids” with another feminine-leaning comedy in which a surly Boston cop (Melissa McCarthy) and a brusque FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) reluctantly join forces to bring down a Hub drug lord.

White House Down: If there’s not enough real-life terrorism out there, you can count on Hollywood to fill the bloody gap with mindless junk like “Olympus Has Fallen,” or this, its better-looking sibling, in which Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum cosmetically usurp Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler, respectively, as the besieged commander in chief and his well-armed, one-man savior.

JULY 3

The Lone Ranger: Just when you thought Hollywood was through pillaging old TV shows, up pops the “Pirates of the Caribbean” duo of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski to put Ke-mo sah-bee (Armie Hammer) and Tonto (Johnny Depp) back to work. In keeping with the current trend, this is yet another origin story in which Tonto recounts how the crime-fighting duo came to be.

Despicable Me 2: Gru (voice of Steve Carell), the curmudgeonly father of three adorable little girls, enlists with the Anti-Villain League to help vanquish a super villain.

JULY 5

The Way, Way Back: Steve Carell does double duty over the holiday weekend by also starring in this coming-of-age story in which a fatherless boy (Liam James) learns life lessons from a wacky stranger (Sam Rockwell) while on summer vacation with his mother (Toni Collette) and her officious boyfriend (Carell).

Grown Ups 2: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade and Chris Rock return to their hapless shenanigans in a comedy which proves, with suspect hilarity, that men never outgrow their childhood.

JULY 17

Turbo: Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson lend their voices to an animated tale about a snail dreaming of becoming the fastest crustacean on Earth.

JULY 19

Red 2: Where do fading action stars go before they die? Some head toward the aptly titled “Expendables,” while the rest gravitate toward this tad smarter version in which Bruce Willis’ retired spy reconnects with old pals Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker on another dangerous globe-trotting adventure.

R.I.P.D. : Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds star in a supernatural yarn about a recently deceased cop joining forces with other dead officers to find the man who killed him. Kevin Bacon and Mary-Louise Parker co-star.

The Conjuring: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as paranormal investigators called into investigate an allegedly haunted farmhouse in what the producers claim is a true story.

Girl Most Likely: After faking a suicide in a desperate attempt to win back her boyfriend, Kristen Wiig’s wigged-out playwright winds up in a place that could really drive her insane – in the custody of her gambling-addicted mother, played by Annette Bening.

JULY 26

The Wolverine: Bad reviews and lukewarm fan reaction won’t stop Hugh Jackman from returning for a second solo outing as the man who revolutionized ingrown cutlery. Last time, he dealt with his nefarious brother. This time, he’s about to go ninja, as he travels to Japan to see if his talons can cut it against Ginsu knives.

Blue Jasmine: Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett head an all-star cast in the latest Woody Allen flick, the plot of which is being kept under wraps.

JULY 31

The Smurfs 2: The surprise 2010 hit gets its inevitable sequel. Expect the dudes in blue to amass plenty of green.

AUG. 2

300: Rise of an Empire: Noam Murro (“Smart People”) takes over for Zack Snyder in this sequel based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, “Xerxes.” This time the action takes to the sea, where the Greek general, Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), leads his minions against the invading Persians, commanded by mortal-turned-god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).

2 Guns: The enticing pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington should bode well for a crime-thriller about two detectives unwittingly pitted against each other by a powerful drug cartel.

AUG. 7

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters: Logan Lerman, so great in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” steps back into Greek mythology to reprise the role of Percy Jackson, the adventurous son of Poseidon, who travels in hot pursuit of the Golden Fleece.

AUG. 9

Elysium: Neill Blomcamp follows up his wildly overrated “District 9” with another metaphoric sci-fi saga – this one starring a bald Matt Damon as a do-gooder trying to establish equality between the wealthy folks on Elysium and the sick and starving refugees from Earth trying to crash its sealed borders. But first he’ll need to get past Jodie Foster, the planet’s stubborn head of immigration.

Planes: Disney gives aircraft the same treatment that “Cars” gave automobiles. Considering how awful “Cars 2” proved to be, it’s hard to get excited, especially when the talent-starved Dane Cook is leading the voice talent.

We’re the Millers: Jason Sudeikis plays a small-time suburban pot pusher making amends with his chief supplier (Ed Helms) by taking on the dangerous task of smuggling a large score from Mexico into California. He enlists the help of Jennifer Aniston, Will Poulter and Emma Roberts to play his fake wife and kids in a ruse designed to help fool the border patrol.

AUG. 16

Kick-Ass 2: The long awaited follow-up to the tongue-in-cheek send-up of superhero movies finally arrives with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz reprising their roles as Kick-Ass and his lethal assistant, Hit Girl, as they once again butt heads with the evil – and dorky – Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Jim Carrey co-stars.

The To Do List: Although she’s a decade older than her character, Aubrey Plaza tries her best to convince as a newly minted high school grad seeking to fulfill a naughty bucket list before entering college. To aid her quest, she enlists an impressive cast that includes Bill Hader, Rachel Bilson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Andy Samberg, Connie Britton and Clark Gregg.

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara star in the Sundance hit about a Texas prison escapee desperately in search of his girlfriend and their newborn daughter. Ben Foster co-stars as the persistent cop threatening to keep them apart.

Paranoia: Liam Hemsworth plays an eager young executive who is forced by his ruthless boss (Gary Oldman) to infiltrate a rival company and create chaos. Harrison Ford co-stars.

AUG. 23

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones: After battling a wicked stepmother in “Mirror Mirror,” Lily (daughter of Phil) Collins tries her hand at slaying demons in a tale based on a series of novels by Cassandra Clare.

The World’s End: Director Edgar Wright (“Hot Fuzz,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Scott Pilgrim”) can do no wrong with critics but has yet to catch on with the mainstream. However, a breakthrough is imminent, and it could well come with this yarn about childhood friends reuniting for an epic drinking marathon. “Star Trek’s” Simon Pegg and “The Hobbit’s” Martin Freeman star.

One Direction: This is Us: If you like One Direction, and every girl under 12 does, then this film is for you, as the lads from England get the Miley, Jonas, Bieber–style docu-concert film treatment.

Getaway: In his third film of the summer, Ethan Hawke gets in touch with his inner Gosling, as he plays a “Drive”-like racer whose skills behind the wheel come in handy in rescuing his kidnapped wife. Selena Gomez and Jon Voight co-star.